Common Medications

Knowing the properties of both daily and as-needed medications for your dog gives you an advantage when tackling canine behavioral problems.

After about six weeks of living with Trill, Dr. Sharp knew that the frightened, anxious dog needed something more. The training and behavior protocols were working in the sense that the dog was cooperative, but Trill still had a panicked look in her eyes much of the time. Sharp was concerned: No animal should have to live with that much fear, she thought.

My brother's Lab retriever-mix was diagnosed with extensive cancer about a month ago. One vet estimated that she only had three weeks to live. My brother is not a very alternative health" type of guy

Banfield Pet Hospital has issued a report analyzing the most common diseases in dogs and cats. The “State of Pet Health 2011 Report” collected data from 2.1 million dogs seen at Banfield’s 770 veterinary hospitals in 2010. Some of the more interesting findings included increases in diabetes, dental disease, ear infections, and flea infestations since 2006. Hookworms and whipworms in dogs also increased during that time period.

holistic

A few years ago, I was at my vet’s office when an older couple brought in a Chihuahua puppy who was very ill. Despite the staff’s best efforts, less than an hour later the pup was dead. The cause? A drug overdose, due to a prescription error made by a human pharmacy.

Purchasing prescription medicines for your dog from your veterinarian is definitely convenient and often necessary from a health standpoint (for example, when your pet urgently needs the drug), but it is usually the more expensive option. The mark-up at veterinary offices usually starts at 100 percent over wholesale prices but it can be 1,000 percent in some cases!

In August 2010, representatives of the American Heartworm Society (AHS), the Companion Animal Parasite Council (CAPC), and experts in the field of nematode resistance met in Atlanta. Their goal was to discuss the possibility of heartworms becoming resistant to macrocyclic lactones

Pain may be the most enigmatic of all the disease symptoms of man or beast. It is a sensation we all have experienced at one time or another and in varying degrees. But, few of us can explain adequately how a particular pain feels, fewer still can give a reasonable explanation for why pain occurs; and despite all the recent scientific research that has gone into pain, we still have a minimal understanding for how it occurs – or truthfully, for how to consistently prevent or alleviate it.

The supply of Immiticide (melarsomine dihydrochloride), the only drug approved to treat heartworm infections in dogs, has been low since December 2009, but now it’s completely gone. Merial confirmed that it was officially out of the drug on August 9, 2011. The current situation is due to a new and separate manufacturing challenge related to technical issues with the company who provides the finished product, according to a Merial spokesperson. Merial said the company is working hard to make the drug available again, but cannot speculate when that might happen.

Pfizer has announced plans to discontinue manufacture and sale of its flea and tick control product, ProMeris. Orders will continue to be filled until September 20, 2011. ProMeris was introduced in the fall of 2007, and touted as the first topical product to use metaflumizone. Pfizer gained control of ProMeris when it acquired Wyeth/Fort Dodge Animal Health in 2009. Pfizer is also the maker of Revolution, used to control fleas and one species of ticks, along with heartworm, ear mites, and sarcoptic mange.

There are almost as many opinions among veterinarians concerning the use of corticosteroids as there are veterinarians. Some feel that these drugs – prednisone, prednisolone, methylprednisolone, and dexamethasone foremost among them – are invaluable to every dog who itches; some feel that corticosteroids ought to be used only as a last resort, and only for short periods and in small amounts. Still others regard them as verboten. Why are these drugs so controversial?